TIDMANIC
Agronomics Limited
27 January 2022
27 January 2022
Agronomics Limited
("Agronomics" or the "Company")
Portfolio Company, BlueNalu, Announces Partnership with FOOD
& LIFE COMPANIES, the Largest Sushi Restaurant Operator in
Japan
Agronomics Limited (AIM:ANIC), a leading listed company focused
on cellular agriculture, is pleased to announce portfolio company
BlueNalu, Inc. ("BlueNalu") has agreed a partnership with FOOD
& LIFE COMPANIES Ltd ("FOOD & LIFE COMPANIES"), to supply
leading sushi brands such as Sushiro and Kyotaru with BlueNalu's
lead product, cultivated bluefin tuna .
Agronomics currently holds both shares and a Convertible
Promissory Note in BlueNalu which would, in aggregate, represent an
equity interest of circa 5.85% on a fully diluted basis and be
valued, subject to audit, at approximately GBP13.4 million (see
announcement of 20 January 2021 for more details on the basis of
this calculation). The BlueNalu position represents roughly 4.8%
portfolio weighting to Net Asset Value.
The full announcement is set out below with no material changes
or adjustments:
SAN DIEGO, Calif., January 25th, 2022 / Osaka, Japan, January
26th, 2022 -- BlueNalu, a leading innovative food company
developing a variety of seafood products directly from fish cells,
announced today a collaboration with leading, multinational sushi
restaurant operator, FOOD & LIFE COMPANIES Ltd. (TYO: 3563) .
As a Japanese foodservice leader, FOOD & LIFE COMPANIES
(F&LC) operates brands such as Sushiro and Kyotaru and over
1,000 restaurants across Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong,
Singapore, Thailand and Mainland China.
The agreement focuses on developing a supply-chain solution for
bluefin tuna and other sushi-grade products for the multinational
sushi restaurant operator in the Asia-Pacific region, where seafood
consumption is highest. The companies plan to collaborate on
product development and marketing as well as support of a
regulatory framework to accelerate BlueNalu's commercialization in
Japan.
BlueNalu and F&LC will focus on the belly portion of bluefin
tuna, called toro, as an initial commercial product. Bluefin tuna
is a prized species in Japan, where an estimated 80% of the global
supply is consumed, and commands premium pricing for its delicious
flavor and unique sensory characteristics.
"FOOD & LIFE COMPANIES is a global leader in the sushi
restaurant business, and BlueNalu is thrilled to partner with their
team to continue the innovative legacy of their iconic brands,"
said Lou Cooperhouse, president & CEO of BlueNalu.
"Cell-cultured seafood is a supply-chain solution that will have
the taste, texture and nutrition that consumers expect, and will
not be susceptible to environmental contaminants like mercury and
microplastics. By centering our initial efforts on the high-quality
toro portion of bluefin tuna, we aim to demonstrate culinary
excellence with the most prized portion of the most sought-after
fish in the most iconic marketplace for seafood."
"With the uncertainty of natural marine resources in the future,
it is important that we secure a stable supply of seafood in a more
sustainable manner," said Koichi Mizutome, president and CEO of
FOOD & LIFE COMPANIES. "We have already been promoting the use
of farmed seafood as one of the ways to achieve this, but as
seafood demand increases in the future, there will be increasing
challenges with our global supply chain. Therefore, we are eager to
incorporate BlueNalu's cell-cultured seafood as we believe it is
one of the most promising methods to help solve these issues. We
look forward to the progress of this collaboration, and to the
future when BlueNalu products can be used as sustainable,
delicious, healthy, and reliable seafood on our menus."
Global seafood consumption is at an all-time high and continues
to increase, particularly in Asia. The United Nations projects
global population and consumption growth will require 28 million
metric tons of new seafood production by 2030 . In addition to
wild-caught and farm-raised seafood, cell-cultured seafood is seen
as a third production method that can help meet that demand.
This announcement with F&LC follows additional
collaborations announced earlier by BlueNalu, including agreements
with Pulmuone Co. Ltd. in South Korea, Sumitomo Corporation and
Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan, Thai Union in Thailand and Nomad
Foods in Europe. BlueNalu's business strategy is to partner with
leading multinational companies on market research, regulatory
affairs, product design and development, manufacturing, marketing,
sales and distribution, with an aim to efficiently and effectively
bring BlueNalu's branded cell-cultured seafood products to
consumers worldwide.
About BlueNalu
BlueNalu's mission is to develop great-tasting, healthy, safe
and trusted cell-cultured seafood products that support the
sustainability and diversity of our ocean. BlueNalu is aligned with
the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, a blueprint to
achieve a better and more sustainable future for our planet.
BlueNalu began its operations in 2018 and is based in San Diego,
California.
About FOOD & LIFE COMPANIES
FOOD & LIFE COMPANIES (F&LC) operates restaurant brands
such as Sushiro and Kyotaru and is aiming to realize the vision of
"Discovering new tastiness, Sharing moments of joy" together with
our "COMPANIES" - the various multinational brands in our group. As
a Japanese foodservice leader, F&LC operates over 1,000
restaurants across Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore,
Thailand, and Mainland China. In order to deliver safe and
delicious food to our customers, we have a responsibility to
achieve a sustainable food supply that will last into the
future.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements
including, but not limited to, statements related to the
development and commercialization of BlueNalu's products in
collaboration with F&LC, the potential launching of BlueNalu's
products in F&LC , and the type and characteristics of products
that BlueNalu will produce in collaboration with F&LC. These
forward-looking statements are based on BlueNalu's and F&LC's
current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and
uncertainties. BlueNalu and F&LC undertake no duty or
obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in
this press release as a result of new information. The impact of
this agreement on the consolidated business performance of F&LC
is expected to be insignificant.
About Agronomics
Agronomics is a leading listed alternative proteins company with
a focus on cellular agriculture and cultivated meat. The Company
has established a portfolio of 18 companies at the Pre-Seed to
Series C stage in this rapidly advancing sector. It seeks to secure
minority stakes in companies owning technologies with defensible
intellectual property that offer new ways of producing food and
materials with a focus on products historically derived from
animals. These technologies are driving a major disruption in
agriculture, offering solutions to improve sustainability, as well
as addressing human health, animal welfare and environmental
damage. This disruption will decouple supply chains from the
environment and animals, as well as being fundamental to feeding
the world's expanding population. A full list of Agronomics'
portfolio companies is available at https://agronomics.im/ .
About Cellular Agriculture
Cellular Agriculture is the production of agriculture products
directly from cells, as opposed to raising an animal for slaughter,
or growing crops. This encompasses cell culture to produce
cultivated meat and materials, and fermentation processes that
harness a combination of molecular biology, synthetic biology,
tissue engineering and biotechnology to massively simplify
production methods in a sustainable manner.
Over the coming decades, the source of the world's food supply
traditionally derived from conventional agriculture is going to
change dramatically. We have already witnessed the first wave of
this shift with the consumer adoption of plant-based alternative
proteins but today, we are on the cusp of an even bigger wave of
change. This is being facilitated by advances in cellular
agriculture. This change is necessary, given scientists claims that
if we maintain existing animal protein consumption patterns, then
we will not meet the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to
1.5
AT Kearney, a global consultancy firm, projects that cultivated
meat's market share will reach 35% by 2040. This combined with the
Good Food Institute's estimate that a US $1.8 trillion investment
will be required in order to produce just 10% of the world's
protein using this technology, means that we are on the cusp of a
multi-decade flow of capital to build out manufacturing facilities.
Funding in the field of cellular agriculture is accelerating,
however still less than US$ 1 billion has been invested worldwide
since the industry's inception in 2016.
For further information please contact:
Agronomics Beaumont Cenkos Peterhouse
Limited Cornish Limited Securities Capital TB Cardew
Plc Limited
The Company Nomad Joint Broker Joint Broker Public Relations
------------------ ------------------ --------------------- ------------------------
Richard Reed Roland Cornish Giles Balleny Lucy Williams Ed Orlebar
Denham Eke James Biddle Michael Johnson Charles Goodfellow Joe McGregor
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+44 (0) 20 7930
0777
+44 (0) 1624 +44 (0) 7738 724
639396 +44 (0) 207 +44 (0) 207 +44 (0) 207 630
info@agronomics.im 628 3396 397 8900 469 0936 agronomics@tbcardew.com
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